Chipa So'o
Cornmeal and cheese buns stuffed with hand-chopped beef, green onions, and hard-boiled eggs. The beef broth is used to bind the dough. This recipe makes about 26 units, with a golden surface and the characteristic cracks of this preparation.
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg Paraguayan cornmeal, for the dough
- 200 g cheese in small cubes, for the dough
- 100 g beef fat or lard, for the dough
- 500 ml approximately of the beef cooking broth, for the dough
- Salt to taste for the dough
- 1 kg raw stewing beef (Argentine cuts called palomita or roast beef), for the filling
- Water, as needed to boil the meat
- 1 large onion
- 250 g green onions (scallions)
- 1 large garlic clove
- 1 bell pepper, one color or a mix of colors
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 generous splash of oil
- Salt and pepper to taste for the filling
- Fat, as needed for the baking sheet if it is not non-stick
Method
- 1
Remove excess fat from the meat, leaving some, and place it in a pot with plenty of water. Add salt, cover, and boil for about 1 hour, until very tender. Remove the meat and reserve the broth for the dough.
- 2
While the meat is cooking, boil the eggs for 10 minutes. Cool, peel, and mash or chop very finely.
- 3
Chop the onion, garlic, bell pepper, and green onions. Separate the green leaves from the rest of the green onions to add at the end. When the meat can be handled, chop it with a knife.
- 4
Heat the oil in a skillet (frying pan) and sauté the onion, garlic, bell pepper, and the white part of the green onions. Crush the cumin and add it. When the onion is translucent, incorporate the green onion leaves and the chopped meat.
- 5
Add the eggs to the filling, season with salt and pepper, and mix. Let it cool slightly while preparing the dough.
- 6
Mix the cornmeal with the 100 g of fat and the cheese. Let the reserved broth cool slightly and add it little by little, integrating with your hands; adjust the salt. Use the 500 ml as a reference: depending on the humidity of the flour, more or less may be needed. The dough is ready when it holds together when squeezed.
- 7
Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Prepare non-stick baking sheets or grease standard ones.
- 8
Take a portion of dough, form a ball, and press the center with your thumb to make a cavity. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling and close the dough around it, covering it completely. Give it a flat base and leave the top rounded.
- 9
Repeat until you have about 26 pieces and distribute them on the baking sheets. Bake in two batches, for 20-25 minutes each, until golden brown. Surface cracks are normal. Serve hot.